Dogs are somewhat like young human children, study finds
Dogs are somewhat like young human children, study finds
When exploring their environments, dogs treat their owners similar to the way young children treat their parents, new research reveals.
Treating our dogs like our babies might, it turns out, be somewhat reasonable.
A new study has found that the relationship between dogs and their owners is similar in character to that between parents and their babies.
In human parent-child bonding, infants perceive their caregivers as a “secure base” as they begin to explore the world, tentatively reaching out into the unfamiliar with the confidence that someone known is observing their mini-adventure and is waiting to fold them back into what is safe and secure. Now, a study published in PLOS ONE has tested the confidence-levels of dogs with and without their owners and found that the same “secure base effect” is also found in owner-dog bonding.
To note differences in dog behavior with and without their owners, Lisa Horn and colleagues from the Vetmeduni's Messerli Research Institute studied the behavior of dogs under three different conditions: "absent owner," "silent owner," and "encouraging owner.” In each of the situations, the dog could earn a food reward by interacting with dog toys.
When the owner was present, the dog tended to pursue the food reward, confidently addressing the dog toy challenges. Whether or not the owner was vocal didn’t affect the dog’s behavior; the owner’s presence was alone was enough to encourage the animal’s ambitions.
In the “absent owner” part of the experiment, the researchers replaced the animals’ caregiver with a stranger to the dog. In that experiment, the dogs largely declined to interact with the strangers and expressed limited interest in achieving the food reward. The scientists proposed that in that situation, the dog lacks the security it needed to bravely face the world and tackle the food reward tasks.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2013/0624/Dogs-are-somewhat-like-young-human-children-study-finds
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I'm taking my puppy for his doggie daycare "interview" tomorrow. First time I'll be leaving him with strangers (strangers to him, I know these awesome people) and now I feel that he won't have a "secure base"! 
And make new friends 
Just be careful who he gives his facebook info out to....
This place is great. And my little guy just loves other dogs, so I'm doing this mostly so he'll be able to interact with some dogs besides my brother's grumpy old man dog.
